Picker stick support



July 3, 1945. HQEBER I 2,379,525

PICKER STICK SUPPORT Filed Jan. 16, 1942 INVENTOR. HAEOLD HOEBER.

ATTo ENE Y.

Patented July 3, 1945 UNI-TED 's'l AT-Es" PATENT: T

more particularly" to-means for securing-a picker stick to such a loomin a mannerwhi'ch willpermit the position of the picker readily to beadjusted in. relation to other-operativeparts:

In aloom where the shuttle is drivenaacross the layby'ablow from apicker; it'is well known; that I the position of the picker relative tothe shuttle during impact. is important, and. must be con.- trolled'within close limits. It is usual practice fixedly to attach the pickerto. an end of the pickerstick; and to place the other end of the pickerstick in a holding means, such as the parallel shoe. It has-beenproposednheretofore tomake the connection. between-the pickei: stifckandthe parallel. shoe of? such: a nature as. to enable the.

picker stick to be slipped along the connecting member byamanualoperation.topiace thepic'ker in a proximately thecornectpositionbefore se.-.

cun'ing the. pants iniplacet By such. meansrit isdimoult' to make acorrect adjustment ofi'the. picker without: considerable manipulation ofthe relatedpart's. I

It" is, an object of this invention] to; providemeansassociat'edf with.a stick which will enable theposi'tion ot the: picker stick, andtherefore the picker, to be adjusted under .POSiti-ffiGQIlrtroland.tobe'fixedly secunedinthe -aui-iustedv position. v i

It is a further object of' this inuenticnitosecm'e a member to; thepicker; stick and connect it in ancadiustable manner withra parallelshoezformed, to receive the picker, sticki sci'that-ithe-positiont ofthelatter relatizvertowthe shoer'canibe ccntnc lie'd by manipulating;the connectiom. v

It is another obsiect-oi thisinnenticri to provicle,"

a picker stick having means. at oneeend. tOl assure that the; picker. beplacedon; the: stickizin a predetermined position, and: :meansat- Itheother: end: whereby the; picker stick cam besplacediintaz holding: meansand adjusted in nelaticnvthereto: before? being; secured in:operatiuecpositionh Theseand: other-objects may be 'accomplis'hed'r.

by; the construction shown in: the accompanying",

drawing inawhich-z t Fig; 1: is a; fmontaelevation' at? at :pcnti'omotthe:

replenisl iing v side 05 a lcom,:withi myinventiom applied theizeto.

Fig. 2- -is a front. elevation, partly in section; of a; picker stickand picker stick: hoiriin'grmeans. made in: accordance with my.invention.

Fig; 3: is in perspective View oft he pickei sticls holding means: shownin. Figs 2 tow an enlarged scale.

Fi 4- is a-plan View of aidetail ofthe devica taken on the lineW-dofFigz 2.

The-drawing" shows an embodimentof-my invention applied to a filling:replenishing loom of well known construction, althcu'ghit' is tb be unpderstoo'cl it s use is'-. not limited theretoz "I-hef loom maycomprise'aloom side i having. ama'gazine 2' mounted thereon fi cm whichreserve fiilingr carriers 3 are transferred taasliuttle'M One end ofapicker'stick5 is attached to' .a

parallel-shoe '5'- which necks: on: a parallel li The parallel? isattached to a rocket-chant, not shown, a

' which causes the parallel, and 'henee the-picker It is usualpiracfiiceto. form) az-cup l li Eimthe face I2 of the picker toreceive'ythe' end" oi? the shuttle in close cooperation whenct-he'ss'huttle enters the shuttle box. The-shuttle enters thethe oppo'siteenidof theslay'; v However; if the: picker is not properly; adjusted,when the end of theshuttleris seated in! theecum ll theshnttlewillnotassume a horizontal posiouter end; of the shuttlewiih-be elevated andthe.- inner: end depressed;- again] causing. the shuttle'tc'h stick; toreciprocate forwardly-and reai wardiy' oithe'loomin-synchronisxmwiththe-layt 'I 'he' picker stfl'ckis actuatedllongituflinailly' of the lay bya lug' strap 'fl' attached-toe; suitabledriving mechanisim not shown. i A picker fill-is attached to the otherend ofithe picker stick in' a:- position! to" contact one end: an

the shuttle I to drivethe shuttle acno'ss the' lays All of the foregoingconstruction-is WelllknOWl-L in the art and forms-nos paht-ofiihcpresentinvention. l

box with 'scmeforce and: flheendi of it seats-'itself forcibly= in thecup N; :If the picker is properly! adjusted, the centercfithicicuphli'will be in linewith the longitudina'k center of thershuttlegand;3

on contact, the" shnttlewill mainta-m a position parallel. with thelayand seated: thereon through out its length; Whenwit ispickedifronttheylioxthe shuttle will make a smooth: flight' through the 'she'dand seat itselfpnoperly imthe". box-on titan; If the picker-should betoolowfthe-outn emiofi the-shuttle; that: ishther end contacting thepicker, will: bendepressedi, causing the opposite;- enclr thereof. to beraised.v Ilf thiscondition. is" aggiiai-yvated theai'nner-end: oftheshntt-le may b'e pushed;

againstthertopof the box, therebyincreasing the; frictionar,tesistanceon the shuttle: and; reducing the efiective'fcrce of thezpick.I r a If the position' of. the :picker is-:-toorahigh the,-

be: improperlyboxe d and: the' frictional; nesista-nce thereonincreasedu V .Ihveithevcase. much oil the force of: theickens on thepicker and less will be available to drive the shuttle across the lay.If the shuttle does not enter the box on the opposite end of the laywith suflicient force it will not be able to overcome the designedbraking resistance of the shuttle box enough to enter it fully. If theshuttle is not properly boxed the effective eifort of the picker isagain reduced. The condition'is cumulative and soon causes a stoppage ofthe loom. I

In some, cases an improperly adjusted picker will cause the flight ofthe shuttle to become erratic, and the shuttle will lope through theshed, that is, follow a sinusoidal path instead of a straight line.Where the deviation of the shut tle from a straight path is pronounced,the shut-.

tle may contact the warp threads alternately on the bottom and top ofthe shed and. cause an injury thereto which may result ina defect in thecloth. In extreme cases the shuttle may be caused to leave-the-ished,rupturing warpthreads an disrupting the operationjof the loom. i

It also has been found that an improperly adjusted picker has a muchshorter life thanone which is properly adjusted. The continued hammeringcontact of the shuttle point on but one sideuof the cup H soon causesthe wallsof the picker on the contact side to break down, and theusefulness of the picker to be destroyed.

Attempts have'been made to adjust thev picker possible adjustment of thepicker.v The screw I3 is then unable to find a purchase in the stick bywhich to hold the picker in yet another position, and when this occursthe usefulness of the picker stick is at an end. 1 I

The present invention provides a means for readily and accuratelyadjusting the position of the picker without removing it from the pickerstick or damaging the related parts.

The bottom portion of the picker stick is supported in a parallel shoe 6which rocks on a parallel I. The parallel shoe has an opening l4 throughit from top to bottom of such size as to receive the picker stick, andthere is a corresponding opening in the parallel for the same purpose.The picker stick projects through the openings in the parallel shoe andparallel and extends below the latter where it is engaged by a strap l5extendingto a spring drum l6.

Also extending through the openings in the parallel shoe and parallel,and placed between a wall of the openings and the picker stick, is amember H, which may be called a tongue.

The shoe 6 has an upwardly projecting flange l8 thereon,'forming anextension of one wall of the opening 14. The tongue IT is placed betweenthis flange portion and the picker stick. The flange l8 has an openingI9 therein to receive a bolt 20. The tongue has an opening 2| in linewith the opening l9 and for a similar purpose.

The picker stick in the region in axialalignment with the openings l9and 2i has a slot 22 formed in it, having a dimension longitudinally ofthe picker stick several times that of the bolt- 20. The slot 22 isdesigned to receive the bolt also. In assembling, the bolt is passedthrough the'holes l9 and 2| and through the slot 22 until it extendsfrom the picker stick on the opposite side.

An end of the strap I5 is engaged over the bolt and a washer 23 isplaced thereon. A look washer 24 and nut 25 complete the assembly.

Threaded through the flange in a position above the bolt 20 is a setscrew 26. The tip 2'! of the set screw abuts the tongue 17 and providesa means for controlling the angular position of the tongue and thepicker stick relative to the parallel shoe. A nut 28 is provided on theset screw to abut the face of the flange. l8 to hold the set screw inits adjusted position.

The upper portion of the tongue H has a pro- V jection 29 formedthereon. The projection has a vertical hole 30 formed in it, tapped toreceive a bolt 3i v Spaced above the tongue ll there is secured to thepicker stick a U shaped member 32, the legs 33-and 34 of "which arescrew threaded to receive nuts 35 and 36. Placed between the base of theU shaped portion and the picker stick is an element 31, one end of whichis arcuate in form'to fit snuglywithin the U and the other. end of whichis flat to. engage the edge of the picker stick.

The element 3T has an opening 38 through it;

receive the member32 to aid in securinglthe parts inplace. p On theopposite side of the pickerstick from that engagingthe element 31,astrip of. resilient material 40 isplacejd astraddle the legs 33, and34, and this is backed up by a bar of rigid material, which is engagedbylo'ck washers 42 and 43A and the nuts 35 and 36 to complete theassembly.

Bytightening the nuts 35 and36 the element 31 is securely fasten'edtothe picker stick. 1. The bolt 3| has a head 44 abutting the top face 45of the element 31. The bolt passes through the opening 38 and a nut 46is screwed onto the bolt until it approaches the lower face 41 of theelement'31. When the head 44 andnut 46 are so spaced that the element 31can fit between them with sufficient clearance to allow the bolt easilyto be turned, the nut 46 is secured in place,

as by brazing it to the bolt, as shown at 48.

A second nut 49 is threaded on the bolt followed by a lock washertill.The bolt is then'threaded in the opening 30in the projection 29. Whenthe members 32 and 31 are assembled the bolt will be heldin place on themember 3'!- but will be freely revolublere'lative thereto.

It willbe'seen from this construction "that as the bolt is threaded intoor out of the opening 38, the member'31 will follow it, and 'a means isthereby afforded for adjusting the relative distance between theaforesaid member 37 and the tongue 23. Since the member 3'! ordinarilyis rigidly attached to the picker stick, and since the tongue is held ina position relatively stationary to the parallel shoe by the bolt 20, ifthe nut'25 is loosened to permit the pi'cker'stick to move relative tothe tongue and shoe, by adjusting the bolt 3! the picker stick also willbe adjusted in position relative to the parallel shoe. When the desiredadjustment'is obtained the nut 25 on bolt allel shoezflxedly in thenewposition.

By this invention all of the necessary adjustments of the picker can bemade at the base of the picker stick. In order to assure that the pickeralways will maintaina fixed position on the top of the picker stick aprojecting element is attached to the top of the stick in a position toabut the bottom of the picker. The member 5| may be a dowel inserted inan appropriate hole formed in the picker stick with a part leftprojecting beyond the face thereof. The member 5| is placed in spacedrelationship to'the tip of the stick to allow sufficient space for thepicker to be placed thereon. 'A holding means, such as the screw I3, isprovided to hold the picker in place.

Now it will be seen that the picker fixed in position on the top of thepicker stick, as the,

position of the latter-is adjusted the position of the pickernecessarily must change. By manipulating the adjustable connections atthe base of the picker stick the picker can be placed in anyv desiredlocation, and can readily be brought in alignment with the shuttle.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment of my invention, I claim:

1. A support for a picker stick comprising a means having an openingtherein to receive said picker stick, an element in said opening betweensaid means and said picker stick, a second element, said second elementbeing secured to said picker stick, and an adjustable connection betweensaid elements whereby the position of said second element and saidpicker stick can be adjusted vertically relatively to said firstelement,

2. A support for a picker stick comprising a parallel shoe, an openingthrough said shoe arranged to receive said picker stick,,an element insaid opening between said picker stick and said shoe and slidablyengaging said picker stick, a second element secured to said pickerstick above said first element and in spaced relationship therewith, andan adjustable connection be.- tween said elements, whereby the positionof said picker stick and said second element can be adjusted relativelyto said first element.

3. A support for a picker stick comprising a parallel shoe, an openingthrough said shoe ararranged to receive said picker stick, an element insaid opening between said picker stick and said ranged to receive saidpicker stick, an element in said opening between said picker stick andsaid shoe and adjustably engaging said picker stick, a second elementsecured to said picker stick above said first element and in spacedrelationship therewith, an adjustable connection between said elementswhereby the position of said picker stick cured to said picker stick andhaving an adjustable connection with said means, said adjustableconnection being arranged to permit the relative positions of said meansand said element to be Q adjusted longitudinally of the picker stick,and means fixedly to secure said first means and said picker stick in anadjusted position.

- 6. A means for supporting a picker stick com-' prising a member havingan opening therein to receive one end of said picker stick, an elementin said opening between said member and said.

picker stick and adjustably engaging said picker stick, a secondelement, said second element being secured to said picker stick, anadjustable connection between said elements and arranged-to permit therelative positions of said elements to be I adjusted longitudinally ofthe picker stick, and

40 picker stick having a slot there-through correshoe and slidablyengaging said picker stick, a

second element secured to saidpicker stick above said first element andin spaced relationship therewith, and means revolubly mounted in saidsecond element and connected by screw threads to said first elementwhereby said second element and said picker stick can be adjusted inposition relative to said first element.

4. A support for a picker stick comprising a parallel shoe, an openingthrough said shoe arsponding in position with said openings and arrangedto receive said bolt, said boltbeing ar- 7 ranged to hold said shoe andsaid tongue in relatively fixed positions, said slot in said stick beingarranged to permit the said stick to move relatively to said tongue andsaid shoe in a direction longitudinally of said stick, a member securedto said stick in a position above said tongue and in stick secured to itto be adjusted in longitudinal position relative to said tongue and saidshoe, said bolt being arranged to permit said picker stick,

said tongue, and said shoe to be fixedly secured in their adjustedpositions.

HAROLD HOEBER.

